Smartphone
users that have been enjoying “unlimited” data use (for one set price) on
devices like the iPhone for quite some time. This was good for heavy users
because they could do all they wanted without fear of a massive bill at the end
of the month. The problem for carriers came when smartphone sales exploded and
people actually started to consume that data.

Verizon
has hinted around at tiered data pricing strategy for months and has even trialed
a tiered plan for users that didn’t typically consume much data. Verizon
started a $10 monthly data plan that allows a scant 150MB of data use monthly.
The goal of the plan was to lure users on family plans that didn't typically
use data to try it out.

Apparently the move worked and it seems tiered
data pricing may be here to stay at the nation's largest carrier.
Verizon CEO Daniel Mead told Reuters at CES, "We've been
very encouraged by that [family plan user data adoption]. We think it's helped
us in terms of getting more members of a family using data."

The special $10 monthly plan was an offer that was supposed to disappear at the
end of January 2011. However, Mead said the promotion is being evaluated and
thanks to the success, it may lead to a more permanent plan. He said, "We're
considering every option."

Verizon and all of the other carriers are keen to find ways to get more users
on their higher margin data plans now that most people have mobile phones. Data
use is a key profit center for carriers and Verizon expects its LTE data plans
with much faster speeds to bring in more customers.

Mead added,
"We're coming into an important phase of growth. I think we're going to
see customer growth. We're going to see customer engagement in different
ways."

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